Ed Tech Update #1

So, I'm not a big blogger or writer but a friend convinced me to blog about how I use tech in the classroom. Here goes nothing!

First, I love coding and second graders love coding. Since we do not have a BYOD policy and are not 1:1, this is how we roll! We use Daisy the Dino & I give them tasks such as "Make Daisy moonwalk." The students then figure it out using their critical thinking caps... or trial & error. Once it's figured out they record it in their journals. They also love to assign tasks to each other.We do this as whole group or in small groups depending on the time we have available.

We have experimented with Hopscotch and a few of my kids are successful at Hopscotch, but Daisy the Dino works the best.

Below is a picture of us working on coding as whole group as well as a picture of a journal in progress.

April 28 - May 2, 2014...Ladybugs & Butterflies

This week we started our butterfly unit by ordering caterpillars from Insect Lore to watch them become butterflies. We started by learning about the life cycle as well as some key terms...aka vocabulary words! We then made our first observation of them as caterpillars.

We started the week by reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar. We also used popplet to create a visual organizer of the items eaten during the week. We also read many other butterfly books.

In math we have been rocking fractions. We sorted fractions, then made a flip flap chart and the kids are excelling at fractions. YES!!!

I also attended a professional development about coding in the classroom. I feel like everyone does what I do in the classroom, but I was proven wrong again this week. My students love Daisy the Dino. I give them task such as, " Make Daisy walk backwards to the sun. Then touch the sun and walk back forwards." We then record our program code in our journals, since you cannot save them. I love coding, even in 2nd grade. All of my students have shown success in coding.

We started our ABC Countdown to the end of school. This week we celebrated A Day with a butterfly art project. Then B Day was bubbles. C Day was Career Exploration using The Career Zoo website. D Day was donuts and E Day was a Science experiment with mentos and diet coke. I cannot wait until next week!